A large number of handheld work apparatus, which have an electric motor as the drive motor and in which a battery pack serves as the power supply unit, are known. One such work apparatus is described, for example, in United States patent application publication 2009/0126964 A1. The battery pack can be fastened on a receiving arrangement on account of the simple interchangeability amongst other reasons. This involves attaching the battery pack on the lower end of the handle, with a region having electric contacts projecting into the handle.
Such an arrangement is advantageous in various types of apparatus but is impractical in other apparatus because an attached battery can impair handling.